People news 10/12/03

Collector will auction Schwarzenegger props

MINNEAPOLIS -- Costumes, props and oddities from Arnold Schwarzenegger's films will be offered by collector Michael Kronick at a Nov. 15 auction conducted by Heritage Galleries of Dallas.

Kronick, who keeps his collection of celebrity memorabilia in a Minneapolis warehouse, claims to own one of the largest Schwarzenegger collections in the country.

The auction will include a pair of black boots from "Terminator," a pair of boxers from "True Lies" and fake weapons and parachutes from "Eraser." Schwarzenegger is the governor-elect of California.

Kronick estimates the 15 to 20 lots of objects, taken together, will collect about $100,000.

The collection grew over time as Kronick hung around movie sets, making friends with wardrobe and props people.

"I kind of have kept his stuff over the years," the 32-year-old said this week.

Gala benefit to renovate barn-turned-theater

GREENWICH, Conn. -- A theater created from a Westport barn drew Hollywood and Broadway names to a gala benefit that raised $1.5 million for a renovation project.

Robin Williams and Carole King performed, "Will & Grace" star Sean Hayes hosted, and Christopher Reeve and Harvey Weinstein were among the guests at Thursday night's event at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.

Organizers sold 700 tickets, ranging in price between $500 and $2,000.

Beginning next month, the 168-year-old barn that became the Westport Country Playhouse's home in 1931 will undergo a $30 million renovation.

"It is the most important theater on the East Coast," actor Paul Newman said. "There were more important actors and actresses that performed there in the 1930s, '40s and '50s than anywhere else."

Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward, is the playhouse's artistic director and a major supporter of the renovation.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Helen Hayes and Gloria Swanson are among the performers who have appeared on the playhouse's stage.

-- From wire reports